ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment interacted with Indian Blind Cricket T-20 World Cup winners
Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar, today met the Indian Blind Cricket T-20 World Cup winning team at Dr. Ambedkar International Center , New Delhi and congratulated them for their historic victory. Indian blind cricket team has created history by defeating Bangladesh by 120 runs in the final of the T-20 World Cup played at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on 17th December 2022. It is a matter of pride for the country that India has won the blind T-20 cricket world cup for the third consecutive time. India had previously won this championship in 2012 and 2017, making this their third victory. India has hosted all three of the Blind T20 World Cups.
Special Service and Features
1055 grams gold ingot worth Rs. 51.36 Lakhs seized by Chennai Air Customs. Pax Arrested
Based on intelligence, one male passenger aged 28 years who arrived from Dubai to Chennai by Emirates EK-0544 on 12.10.2021 at 08:00 hrs was intercepted at exit by the AIU officers.
On examination of his person, three nos. of Gold bundles concealed in rectum totally weighing 1170 grams were recovered which resulted in recovery of 1 Gold ingot weighing 1055 grams and valued at Rs 51.36 Lakhs  .The same seized under Customs Act, 1962. Pax arrested.
Further investigation is in progress, according to a press release issued by the Pr.Commissioner of Customs, Chennai International Airport.
Ministry of Mines
Milestone in India and Australia reach Critical Minerals Investment Partnership
India and Australia have reached a major milestone in working towards investment in critical minerals projects to develop supply chains between the two countries.
The Union Minister for Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Pralhad Joshi and Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Madeleine King held bilateral talks on Friday and announced the Partnership has identified five target projects  on which to undertake detailed due diligence
Ministers from the two countries have also agreed to deepen cooperation and extend their existing commitments to the India- Australia Critical Minerals Investment Partnership.
Investments under the Partnership will seek to build new supply chains underpinned by critical minerals processed in Australia, that will help India’s plans to lower emissions from its electricity network and become a global manufacturing hub, including for electric vehicles.
“The partnership between India’s KABIL and CMO Australia has reached the first mile stone in a short span of one year from signing of the MoU in March 2022 between both the organisations’ observed Minister Joshi.
Minister King said “India’s goals to lower carbon emissions and boost electric vehicle production presents great opportunities and prospects for Australia’s critical minerals sector, for renewable exports and for building stronger supply chains.“Working together, both the nations are committed to reduce emissions, guarantee energy security and diversify global markets for critical minerals and clean technologies” added the Minister.
Australia produces almost half of the world’s lithium, is the second-largest producer of cobalt and the fourth-largest producer of rare earths. With the expected increase in global demand for low-emissions technologies over the next three decades, this partnership will go a long way towards securing mutually beneficial critical mineral supply chains.
The Minister Shri Joshi visited Western Australia in 2022 and toured Tianqi Lithium Energy’s Kwinana Lithium Hydroxide Refinery. The partnership on critical minerals has taken further momentum after the visit of Minister Joshi to Western Australia.
Ministry of Communications
Number of Telecom Service Providers
There has been a consolidation in the Telecom Sector since 2012. Even after the consolidation, there is sufficient competition in the sector as at least four Telecom Service Providers  including one PSU  are present in each Licensed Service Area . The country is divided into 22 LSAs.
Consolidation in telecom sector has resulted in optimum utilization of resources including radio spectrum. The same is evident from the substantial increase in number of telecom towers, network coverage and subscriber base. The number of telecom base stations in the country has grown from 6,49,834  to 23,25,948 . At present, the mobile networks in India are serving more than 115 crore subscribers . Nearly, 98% of the population is covered with 4G network. Further, there has been a significant reduction in tariffs for voice and data since 2016 which also indicates presence of adequate competition in telecom sector.
The Union Cabinet in its meeting held on 15.09.2021 has approved the proposal for rationalizing definition of Gross Revenue/ Adjusted Gross Revenue , rationalizing of interest rates and removal of penalties, rationalizing Bank Guarantees requirements and permitting 100% FDI under automatic route in telecom sector subject to the Press Note 3  guidelines regarding investments from countries sharing land-border with India. These reforms are expected to promote healthy competition, infuse liquidity, encourage investment and reduce regulatory burden on Telecom Service Providers .
This information was given by the Minister of State for Communications, Shri Devusinh Chauhan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Finance
Auction for Sale  of Government Stocks
The Government of India has announced the Sale  of  ‘7.32 per cent Government Stock, 2024’ for a notified amount of Rs. 5,000 crore  through price based auction,  ‘7.26 per cent Government Stock, 2029’ for a notified amount of Rs. 6,000 crore  through price based auction,  ‘New Government Stock, 2039’ for a notified amount of Rs. 2,000 crore  through yield based auction, and  ‘7.72 per cent Government Stock, 2049’ for a notified amount of Rs. 4,000 crore through price based auction. Subject to the limit of Rs. 17,000 crore, being total notified amount, Government of India will have the option to retain additional subscription up to Rs. 1,000 crore each against any one or more of the above securities. The auctions will be conducted using multiple price method. The auctions will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India , Mumbai Office, Fort, Mumbai on April 26, 2019 .
Up to 5% of the notified amount of the sale of the stocks will be allotted to eligible individuals and Institutions as per the Scheme for Non-Competitive Bidding Facility in the Auction of Government Securities.
Both competitive and non-competitive bids for the auction should be submitted in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution  system on April 26, 2019. The non-competitive bids should be submitted between 11.30 a.m. and 12.00 noon and the competitive bids should be submitted between 11.30 a.m. and 12.30 p.m.
The result of the auctions will be announced on April 26, 2019  and payment by successful bidders will be on April 30, 2019 .
The Stocks will be eligible for “When Issued” trading in accordance with the guidelines on ‘When Issued transactions in Central Government Securities’ issued by the Reserve Bank of India  vide Circular No. RBI/2018-19/25 dated July 24, 2018 as amended from time to time.
Ministry of Power
Union Power Minister dedicates to the nation NTPC’s 660 MW Super Thermal Power Project in Barh, Bihar
The Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy Shri R. K. Singh dedicated to the nation a 660 MW Unit of Barh Super Thermal Power Project at Barh in Bihar today, August 18, 2023. The 660 MW unit inaugurated today is Unit #2 of Stage I of the project. The commissioning of this unit is another milestone in the government’s endeavour to provide reliable and affordable power to the nation.
Addressing the gathering, the Union Minister congratulated Team NTPC including all engineers and workers involved in the project for successfully completing the unit. The Minister expressed confidence that the remaining third Unit of the project will also be completed successfully. The Power Minister appreciated NTPC for fulfilling more than 90% of the power requirement of Bihar.
The Minister informed that the government has transformed the country from power deficit to power surplus in the last nine years. The whole country has been connected into one integrated grid running on one frequency, said the Minister. The Minister said that distribution systems have been strengthened on a scale which is unprecedented and that schemes for strengthening the distribution system in all States have been implemented at a sanctioned cost of more than Rs. 2 lakh crores. Shri Singh informed that the average availability of power in rural areas is 20 ½ hours today and in urban areas, the average is 23 ½ hours.
The Minister also informed that the Ministry of Power has notified Electricity  Rules, 2020 under Electricity Act, 2003. Implementation of these Rules shall ensure that new electricity connections, refunds and other services are given in a time bound manner, said the Minister.
Later, the Union Minister felicitated the engineers and workers associated with the completion of Unit #2  of the Barh project.
MLA, Barh Shri Gyanendra Kumar Singh also spoke on this occasion. Earlier, CMD, NTPC, Shri Gurdeep Singh welcomed the Minister and other dignitaries and thanked them for their continued support and guidance.
CMD, PowerGrid, Shri K Sreekant; Director , NTPC, Shri Dillip Kumar Patel; Director , NTPC, Shri Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya; and senior officials of Govt of Bihar, NTPC and other officials were present on the occasion.
The programme can be watched here.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Sufficient field stock of Fertilizers available in all States - adequate to address any emergent issue
Department of Fertilizers in day-to-day coordination with Railways for movement of fertilizers across the country: Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda
“There is sufficient field stock of fertilizers available in all the States, which is adequate to address any emergent issue”, said Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Statistics & Programme Implementation, Shri D.V. Sadananda Gowda, in a statement here today.
Shri Gowda said that the Department of Fertilizers  is in regular touch with State Governments and suppliers of fertilizers. In view of the ensuing Rabi season, monitoring is being done on regular and daily basis to ensure adequate availability across the country.In the weekly video conference, jointly organised by Department of Agriculture Cooperation & Farmers Welfare , DoFand Railwayson 04.12.2018, all the States have reported adequate availability of all Fertilizers, the Minister added.
Shri Gowda said that there is day-to-day coordination with Railways for movement of fertilizers across the country. Both the departments  are working in coherence to ensure timely availability of all fertilizers across the country. During Kharif’18 season, due to concerted efforts of Railways and DoF, more than 250 additional rakes were made available for fertilizers as compared to Kharif’17 season, the Minister added.
For Rabi’18-19 , the requirement of urea is estimated at 155.84 LMT. The entire quantity required forthe current rabi season, especially during peak consumption months of December’18 & January’19, is expected to be met by domestic production of about 129 LMT andremaining through imports. Further,the production of P&K fertilizers is also going on in the country and importers are importing P&K under Open General License  to fulfil the field requirement.
The fertilizer supplies are made as per monthly supply plan, prepared in consultation with the suppliers before the start of each month, that fulfils the monthly projected requirement of each State. The suppliers and States have been advised by the DoFto supply and lift respectively the full quantity against the supply plan of December’18. Once the fertilizers are received in the States, the internal distribution within the state is the responsibility of State Government, Shri Gowda informed.
Shri Gowda’s byte may be found at the PIB_India twitter handle on the link below:
https://twitter.com/PIB_India/status/1070200603752591360
Department of Space
Delegation of International Astronautical Federation  meets MoS Dr Jitendra Singh
A delegation of International Astronautical Federation  led by Mr Christian Feichtinger, Executive Director, IAF, met the Union Minister of State  for Development of North Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, here today. Ms Elena Feichtinger, Project Manager and Special Advisor, IAF was also present. Mr S Somanathan, Distinguished Scientist and Director VSSC, ISRO, Mr R. Umamaheswaran, Scientist Secretary, ISRO, Dr D Gowrishankar, Director, International Cooperation ISRO HQ and Ms. U Sreerekha, Associate Director, International Cooperation, ISRO HQalso attended the meeting.
The delegation complimented the Indian scientists for their recent space missions like Chandrayaan-2 and planned Gaganyaan mission. The delegation extended invitation to the Minister to participate in the upcoming International Astronautical Congress  to be held in Washington on 21-25th October, 2019.
During the meeting, the delegation discussed various issues related to the developments in Department of Space. They discussed the possibility of holding International Astronautical Congress  in India in near future. India has the experience of hosting IAC twice earlier, in 1988 at Bangalore and in 2007 at Hyderabad.
The IAC is the biggest annual Space event in the world attracting more than 6000 participants, including leaders of Space agencies and industry; young professionals and students. Each year International Astronautical Federation  in collaboration with the International Academy of Astronautics  and the International Institute of Space Law  organizes the International Astronautical Congress . IAC-2018 held at Bremen, Germany in October 2018 attracted more than 6500 participants from 90 countries. IAC-2019 will be held in Washington D.C., USA in October 2019. IAC serves as a platform for knowledge sharing in astronautics, and broadening international cooperation.
IAF is an international space advocacy and non-governmental organisation based in Paris. IAF, established in 1951 to foster the dialogue between scientists around the world and support international cooperation in all space-related activities, is the world’s leading space advocacy body with 366 members, including all key space agencies, companies, societies, associations and institutes across 68 countries. Each year the IAC is held in different countries with an IAF member organization serving as its host. Every year IAF invites proposals from its member organizations for hosting the IAC.
Ministry of Law and Justice
Press Communique
In exercise of the power conferred by clause  of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint S/Shri  Ganesh Ram Meena,  Anil Kumar Upman,  Dr. Nupur Bhati,  Rajendra Prakash Soni,  Ashok Kumar Jain,  Yogendra Kumar Purohit  Bhuwan Goyal,  Praveer Bhatnagar and  Ashutosh Kumar, to be Judges of the Rajasthan High Court, in that order of seniority, with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices.
(Visitor Counter : 1022
Ministry of Development of North-East Region
Capacity Building & Skill Development Training Programme  Guwahati Under Ministry Of Doner.
North East Cane and Bamboo Development Council , Guwahati, Assam providing training on “Capacity Building & Skill Development Training Programme, to15 nos. artisans from Samba, Kathua and Udhampur Districts at NECBDC, Guwahati, Assam who are accompanied by two departmental officers from the Handicraft Department, Jammu. The programme is sponsored bythe Directorate of Handicrafts & Handloom, Jammu, Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir as an outcome of the MoU signed by NECBDC and Jammu & Kashmir Government on 21.02.2021 for the collaboration in Cane & Bamboo Sector.
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Dr. Shailendra Chaudhari, Managing Director, NECBDC welcomed and facilitated all the participants from Jammu& Kashmir
At the outset, Dr. Shailendra Chaudhari, Managing Director, NECBDC welcomed and felicited all the participants and explained the programme schedule and other activities to be taken up during this training period. This 21 days training programme will be conducted by NECBDC from 22nd, March to 11th, April 2022.
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Dr. Shailendra Chaudhari, Managing Director, Officials and Master Artisans, NECBDC along with the participants from Jammu & Kashmir
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Shipping Ministry Holds Consultative Workshop on National Maritime Heritage Complex in Mumbai
The Ministry of Shipping, through its flagship programme Sagarmala, is closely working with Government of Gujarat and other stakeholders to showcase India's rich maritime heritage through development of a World Class Maritime Heritage Complex  at Lothal in Gujarat. Preliminary work on design elements of the proposed heritage complex has been completed and consultations from experts are now under process. In order to further plan and take the project forward, a one day consultation workshop was held at Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya in Mumbai yesterday.
The discussion was centred on the plan options, themes, design vision, best strategies for collection of artefacts and design approaches, etc. The workshop was attended by officials from the Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Tourism, Maritime Boards, Archaeological Survey of India, Museum Heads, Maritime History Researchers, Universities, Research Institutes, Maritime Societies, private collectors and others who hold artefacts, objects and documents related to the maritime past of India.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Director General, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghralaya, Mumbai said that the development of National Maritime Heritage Complex realizes our key need to preserve and showcase our rich maritime heritage. The Complex will help the younger generations to learn from our rich past.
In his address, Shri D.K Rai, Director  said that concrete efforts are being made to realize the vision of National Maritime Heritage Complex and emphasized that experience shared by maritime history experts will help in shaping the implementation plan.
Ministry of Labour & Employment
All-India Consumer Price Index Numbers for Agricultural and Rural Labourers – September, 2020
The All-India Consumer Price Index Numbers for Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers  for the month of September, 2020 increased by 11 points and 10 points to stand at 1037  and 1043  points respectively. The major contribution towards the rise in general index of Agricultural Labourers and Rural Labourers came from food, with  9.20 points and  8.95 points respectively mainly due to rise in prices of arhar dal, masur dal, ground nut oil, mustard oil, vegetables and fruits etc.
The rise in index varied from State to State. In case of Agricultural Labourers, it recorded an increase of 1 to 23 points in 20 States. Tamil Nadu State with 1234 points topped the index table whereas Himachal Pradesh State with 816 points stood at the bottom.
In case of Rural Labourers, it recorded an increase of 2 to 20 points in 20 States. Tamil Nadu State with 1218 points topped the index table whereas Himachal Pradesh State with 863 points stood at the bottom.
Amongst states, the maximum increase in the Consumer Price Index Numbers for Agricultural Labourers was experienced by Himachal Pradesh State  and for Rural Labourers, it was experienced by Jammu & Kashmir State  mainly due to rise in the prices of wheat-atta, pulses, mustard-oil, milk, onion, chillies-dry, garlic, ginger, barber charges, bus fare, vegetables and fruits etc.
Point to point rate of inflation based on the CPI-AL and CPI-RL decreased to 6.25% and 6.10% in September, 2020 from 6.32% and 6.28% respectively in August, 2020. Inflation based on food index of CPI-AL and CPI-RL is at  7.65% &  7.61% respectively in September, 2020.
All-India Consumer Price Index Number 
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Group
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Agricultural Labourers
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Rural Labourers
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August,2020
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Sept.,2020
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August,2020
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Sept.,2020
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General Index
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1026
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1037
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1033
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1043
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Food
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986
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999
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991
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1004
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Pan, Supari, etc.
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1688
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1694
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1700
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1706
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Fuel & Light
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1087
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1090
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1082
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1085
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Clothing, Bedding &Footwear
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1009
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1012
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1033
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1033
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Miscellaneous
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1035
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1043
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1040
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1047
Speaking about the latest index, Shri Santosh Gangwar, Minister of State  for Labour and Employment said, “The easing of inflation successively for eight months will definitely improve income of millions of workers in rural areas by putting lesser burden on their daily budgetary requirement.
Shri DPS Negi, Director General of Labour Bureau while releasing the index said “Appreciated the efforts put in by the officers in collecting, compiling and disseminating price index despite of the unfavorable situation prevailing in the country owing to COVID-19 pandemic.”
The CPI – AL and RL for the month of October, 2020 will be released on 20th November, 2020.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Herbal decongestant spray on mask can protect from suffocation
This formulation helps in clearing the wind pipe and congestion by removing the mucus or cough leading to ease of breathing
Health authorities have been strongly advocating the use of face masks to prevent corona infection. At the same time, wearinga mask for a long time is reportedly causing difficulties in breathing and congestion in the respiratory system. To address this issue, scientists at CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute , Lucknow, have developed a herbal decongestant spray.
“The main reasons behind this problem include the accumulation of carbon dioxide and humidity in the inner cavity of the mask. When a person breathes in, this goes back to the lungs again. Repetition of this process over a period of time causes discomfort in breathing and congestion”, said Dr. Sharad Srivastava, Senior Principal Scientist, CSIR-NBRI, who led the team of researchers for this study.
“Herbal decongestant spray is a fine blend of four plant-based oils, but the names of these plants cannot be disclosed right now because of issues related to intellectual property. This product is developed based on the principles of Ayurveda and contains ingredients reported in traditional scriptures”, explained Dr. Srivastava.
This formulation helps in clearing the wind pipe and congestion by removing the mucus or cough leading to ease of breathing. It also reduces stress due to excessive use of mask and decongestion.This spray has been prepared as per guidelines of the Ministry of AYUSH.
Lucknow-based NBRI is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research , which is mainly known for its botanical research work. The initial results of this NBRI's herbal spray have been extremely impressive. People wearing masks for a long time are getting a lot of relief from this, say researchers.
The Institute plans to transfer the technology of this inhaler for commercial production so that it can be produced on a large scale and sent to the frontline worriers fighting against COVID-19 pandemic.
[For More Details : Dr. Sharad Srivastava, CSIR-NBRI, Lucknow
Email : sharad@nbri.res.in,sharad_ks2003@yahoo.com]